State Dept Did No Threat Assessment in Benghazi Before Ambassador's Arrival

An intelligence source on the ground in Libya told Fox News that no threat assessment was conducted before U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and his team began "taking up residence" at the Benghazi compound -- describing the security lapses as a "total failure."

The claim comes more than two weeks after Stevens and three other Americans were killed in what is now being described officially as a terror attack possibly tied to Al Qaeda.

The source told Fox News that there was no real security equipment installed in the villas on the compound except for a few video cameras.

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, the intelligence source said the security lapses were a 10 -- a "total failure" because Benghazi was known to be a major area for extremist activity.

The US State Department failed to assess the threat to its personnel in a terrorist hotbed. President Barack Obama was not even attending his daily intelligence briefings in the days leading up to the attacks. Four Americans are dead. The presidential election is mere weeks away.